


Homesick

by satyrgod



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Angst, not romantic but i ship these two so it might have bled into the story, pure angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-31 11:58:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6469261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/satyrgod/pseuds/satyrgod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niles wakes up to crying in the middle of the night. With anyone else, he would just ignore it, but hearing Odin crying is just... unnatural.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Homesick

Niles woke to the sound of crying from the bed across from his.  
  
It took a few moments for his sleep addled brain to realize the source of this was Odin. Though Odin was the only other resident of the room, hearing such a boisterous and cheerful man crying in the middle of the night was… entirely foreign to Niles. Even with Odin’s tendency for theatrics, he’d never heard him even close to a state like this. He couldn’t help but be worried.  
  
“…Odin?” Niles questioned softly, hearing the other man gasp and quickly attempt to quiet himself. “Did you have a bad dream or something..?” He sits up in his bed, looking over at Odin, who was sitting with his knees to his chest.  
  
“O-Of course not!” Odin replied, voice still shaky from crying. “A mere nightmare could never best Odin Dark! Worry not, I’ll be back to normal in the morning. Just… go back to bed.” His normal confidence was completely gone and his ‘heroic’ speech pattern sounded hollow. Clearly he was extremely distressed which… worried Niles even more. They’d been serving under Prince Leo together for a long time now, and had grown rather close. With anyone else, Niles would have turned around and gone back to sleep. But with Odin…  
  
“If something’s bothering you, there’s no need to deal with it alone. I’m no stranger to nightmares. I’m not going to make fun of you, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Niles offers, propping his elbows on his knees so he can rest his chin in his hands. He couldn’t just ignore Odin when he was like this. It was too… weird to see him acting so upset. He wanted to see Odin back to at least a semblance of his normal self before he could go back to sleep.  
Odin hesitated, considering the offer, and then lit the candle next to his bedside. Niles could see the tear stains still drying on Odin’s face. He’d never seen him look like this before. It was hard to look away.  
  
“I didn’t have any nightmares. Quite the opposite, in fact. It was a fantastic dream. I just…” He trailed off, burying his face in his knees. Niles figured he wasn’t going to finish his sentence as silence stretched on.  
  
“This is about your past, isn’t it?” Odin stiffened, which Niles took as an affirmation. Odin’s past remained a mystery to him even now, though it didn’t bother him nearly as much as it used to. If Odin needs to keep it a secret, it’s fine by him. He proves himself a good man in a myriad of other ways. “You don’t have to tell me anything. But if you think it would help…” He trailed off, waiting to see how Odin reacted.  
  
Odin raised his head, resting it on his knees. “I’m just… homesick.” He said simply, grip on his knees tightening. “I’ve been gone for so long. I just… can’t help but miss it, sometimes.”  
  
“,,,What was it like there?” Niles asked, figuring it was a harmless enough question. A few details surely couldn’t reveal anything.  
“Hardly a pleasant place.” Odin laughed, but there was no mirth to it. “It was wartorn. It had been that way for as long as I can remember.” He sighed, and looked at the wall next to his bed, the opposite direction from Niles across the room. “And while I have many heroic tales to offer because of that, it’s not that that I miss… It’s the people. My friends and… and my family.”  
  
Niles made a low hum, indicating that he was still listening. “Will you tell me about them?”  
  
“I can’t say much, Niles.” Odin said, sounding frustrated. “There’s… a lot I can’t say.” He slacked his grip on his knees, letting himself fall back onto his bed. Keeping his entire past identity a secret is incredibly difficult. And annoying. Part of him just wants to tell Niles everything, just to get it off his chest. He knows better, not to mention that Severa– Selena would kill him if he said a word.  
  
“…Will you see them again?” Niles asked, his gentle way of asking if they’re all still alive. Surely that must be what Odin was worried about. A trip home couldn’t be entirely out of the question at some point, right?  
  
“…I don’t know.” Odin murmured, throwing an arm across his face. “I don’t know. If I do, I’ll never see anyone from here again. Which is a problem in itself…”  
“Can you not come back here if you go home?” Odin didn’t answer, so Niles figured he was right. He was hoping he wouldn’t be. “Odin…” He said sorrowfully, because the sudden image of an Odin-less world was surely a dark one.  
  
“I know.” Odin said, his voice cracking in a way that let Niles know he had started crying again. “I don’t want to have to leave. But I can’t just… never go home again. I have no idea what to do, but no matter what it’s gonna tear me apart, I…” his voice breaks into a sob, and Niles feels his heart pang, which is strange for him. He hasn’t felt anything like this in… Well, he really can’t remember the last time he felt bad for somebody.  
  
“…Come here, Odin.” He offered, getting up to sit on the edge of his bed. Odin hesitated for a minute, before shuffling over to the other man’s bed, sniffling all the while. He held onto Niles’ arm, burying his face into Nile’s shoulder. Niles didn’t expect Odin to make the first move, and really, has no idea how he’s supposed to react in a situation like this. He wraps his free arm around Odin, and they simply sat together for a few minutes, Odin crying into Niles, until Odin spoke again.  
“I’m sorry.” He said simply, voice slightly muffled by Niles’ arm. “I shouldn’t be dumping this all on you. You don’t need to hear all this.” He retracted his face from Niles’ arm as he finished, Niles releasing his hold on him. Odin still sat next to him on the bed, wiping tears off his face.  
  
“Don’t be.” Niles said, laying back down on his bed. “You would’ve done the same thing if it were me, right, chosen one?” He said, flashing a grin at Odin, who returned it after a moment of shock, since Niles didn’t usually engage him like that.  
  
“Of course! What kind of hero would allow their dear friend to mourn in front of them, not even lifting a finger?” His mood had clearly lifted some, his words sounding far more genuine than they had earlier in the night. “I would not allow myself even a wink of sleep until I had completely come to your aid.”  
Niles laughed, incredibly relieved Odin was somewhat back to normal. As normal as Odin could be, at least. “Glad to hear it. That’s about how I felt, minus all that hero stuff.” Niles said, putting his hands behind his head. “Think you can catch any of those winks now?”  
  
“I should hope so!”, Odin said, standing up. “I need proper slumber so that I can be fully alert tomorrow morning! Sleep well, my fellow agent of darkness. And, um, thank you.” He added hastily, retreating to his bed immediately after he finished, extinguishing the candle on his way,  
  
“Don’t mention it.” Niles responded lazily, turning around to go to sleep. “I’d do it anytime.”  
  
Odin didn’t respond, but Niles knew the sentiment didn’t go unappreciated.


End file.
